Sir, – William Reville, as per his customary wont, makes a poignant plea for safeguarding academic free speech (“We must defend our academic freedom or we will lose it”, Science&Climate, November 2nd).
Combining this worthy, nay crucial, aspiration he still manages to weave in a salient sporting exhortation to boost his premise, replete with a full-tilt to colloquial home-turf advantage: “However, the stakes are now so high it is time for academics to adopt the Munster rugby motto: ‘Stand up and fight.’”
A vernacular steadfastness of epic populist proportion, given recent rugby exploits on the world stage.
Prof Reville succinctly sketches the overwhelming, onslaught on academic candour and accompanying demise of liberal thought therein, but one wonders why he should be too surprised, given the corporate ethic prevailing in most major universities in Ireland and elsewhere.
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What with global techno, pharma and food companies et al as the central drivers in key funding expansionism, the universities must surely “toe the line”, not get ahead of the ball and “scrum down” to do what they’re told.
No devious disruptions at ruck or maul, or else the sin bin beckons!
Business is business of course and the big university corporate underwriters want their “pound of flesh” – no time for “dilly-dally” or fancy “free-speech” back play.
It’s all “up-the-jumper” stuff ... the old Munster way! – Yours, etc,
JIM COSGROVE,
Lismore, Co Waterford.